Shadows
by KingIradescense
Summary: "What do you think, huh?" I asked the skull. No response. "Silent treatment, huh?" I asked it jokingly, before flying off, leaving a black feather in my wake, taking the skull with me. (As usual, no pairings. T for safety, possibly for violence, likely not. Hope you all enjoy! Note at end. In case you don't read this until later, my birthday is on May 5th. Maybe OOC.)
1. Missouri

~?'s POV~

I've been waiting for about 15 years now, right here, in the state of Missouri. I've been waiting for her to mature to the right age now; ever since she was a baby, and now she is old enough.. She's matured into a beautiful young lady. Long, flowing brown hair, bright blue eyes. Indeed, she is beautiful. On the outside. On the inside, she is quite ugly. She used to be... alright, she wasn't constantly going out of her way to help somebody, but she had some sense of moral. But then she became popular, and in order to keep her popularity, she lost her sense of morals. At first she was pretending, but after awhile she actually became that way. Of course, she has some sense of moral, but not very much. But that doesn't matter. All I need is for her to be beautiful at the ripe age.

And now was that age. School had just been dismissed, and she was walking home from school. Her parents were busy that day, and she was 'too good' for the bus. The street was semi-crowded when she passed by an alleyway. No, it wasn't dark and scary. It was actually still bright out, and the alleyway was quite large. It was between an apartment building and a fenced, quiet supermarket and parking lot. I was slipping into this alleyway just now. Gladly, I was able to before she passed by.

"Excuse me, dearie?" I called out to her by the door from the alleyway; deep in the alleyway, almost by the back wall. She seemed to hear me easily, and turned to look into the alleyway. I felt assured in my plan, knowing that the girl saw me as an old grandma by a cane lying on the floor.

"Yeah?" She began to walk into the alleyway as she spoke. Who is teaching this girl about what she should and should not do? Whoever it is or whoever it was, they aren't or didn't do a very good job. Hardly adequate.

"Could you help me?" By this time, she was already halfway down the alleyway. She slowed her walk but continued. "With what?" She was now about a quarter of the alleyway away from me.

"I dropped my cane, and I can't seem to bend down to pick it up. Could you please get it for me? I've been standing her all day, hoping somebody would come by." "Alright, just let me get it." She agreed easily. It's a good thing she had some moral left. She continued to walk towards me, until she was in front of me and had bent down to pick up the cane.

And the alleyway began swarming with darkness. She looked up...

and screamed.

Awhile later, I sat on the roof, with a skull sitting in my hand. Below me, people were swarming the now-once-again-bright alleyway. Eventually, the crowd dispersed to make way for 2 paramedics holding a stretcher with something covered in a white sheet slowly being stained crimson between them into the ambulance. Elsewhere in the alleyway, bloodied remains were being picked up. I held up the skull in my hand so it was eye-level with me. It was bloodied, but it was dry blood.

"What do you think, huh?" I asked the skull. No response.

"Silent treatment, huh?" I asked it jokingly, before flying off, leaving a black feather in my wake, taking the skull with me.

* * *

 **Okay.**

 **Today is my birthday! So now that I am 13, old enough to be here, allow me to reintroduce myself.**

 **Hello, I'm ScarletAlexia!**


	2. Creaks In The Floorboards

~Tohru's POV~

I unconsciously grunted as I sat up, stretched in bed, and pushed myself out of bed. Today is a Monday. This doesn't sound like myself, but I hate Mondays, to be perfectly honest. It's up and at 'em, I guess. Before long, I was heading off for school. Kyo and Yuki were nowhere to be found at the time, so nobody was walking me to school. I'll probably hear it later on, but I suppose there's no avoiding it.

Strangely enough, Saki and Arisa weren't waiting outside for me as usual.

Maybe something bad happened? No, I honestly doubt it.

So I went through the daily motions.

And throughout doing the daily motions, I didn't see Saki, Arisa, Kyo, Yuki, Hatsuharu, or Momiji, so I was glad to see Shigure when I got back to the house.

"I'm back, Shigure-san!" I called out as I entered the house and slipped my shoes off. "Welcome back, Tohru-chan!" He called in response. I guessed that he was in the living room, judging by where the voice was coming from. And I could hear the television blaring. I felt uneasy, though, so I stood in the hallway and thought for a few minutes. When I decided what to do, I silently detoured around the house into the kitchen and piled all the apples and oranges into my backpack. After I had done that, I came back around, just as silently as the first time, and entered the living room through the foyer by the front door. Just as I had thought, Shigure was sitting cross-legged and watching the television from his spot next to the table. I still feel uneasy, but I brought myself to come over to him and sit on the other side of the table from him. He glanced at me a few times from the corners of his eyes over the next several minutes. Finally, he broke the murderous silence. Why was it murderous? I feel uneasy, and not many things make me feel uneasy, despite it being me.

"So how was school?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye again, now focusing his gaze on me as he spoke, his face ever-smiling, giving me some comfort. "It was wonderful. Thank you for asking, Shigure-san! How was your day?" I beamed my smile at him.

"My day was fine, thank you for asking." He turned his attention back to the television. Soon, though, I'd summed it up enough to ask him something I'd been wondering about all day long.

"Do you know where Kyo-kun and Yuki-san were all day?" I looked up at him again. He shrugged and brushed some of his hair out of his face. "Your friends came by this morning and said that they needed them for something urgent. I think they said it was school-related. I wouldn't be worried, if I were you, Tohru-san." He smiled gently at me before continuing to watch the program.

"Alright, Shigure-san." I felt slightly relieved. But before long, the uneasiness from earlier came back before long, so I stuck my hand in my backpack to make sure the apples and oranges were still there, though I was confident that I had actually done it; but then, I heard a long sound, as though somebody was straining wood.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._

I took out a pad and pencil and jotted down a few things, which seemed to catch Shigure's attention. "What's that?" He leaned over slightly, finally having stopped looking at the program and now at me. "Just a little reminder. There's something I need to make sure that I get done." I didn't... Just conversation, I guess. Conversation drowns out the uneasiness. At least, that's the effect it has on me. Well, that didn't last very long. Shigure had silenced and went back to watching the program. Some kind of reality show.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ Another creak. It makes me feel vulnerable. This doesn't sound like myself, but vulnerability makes me feel weak, helpless, like a decoy or a sacrifice. Shigure doesn't seem to hear it.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ Unnerved. I don't like feeling this way.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ I don't know what's happening. I hate it. I hate not knowing. It makes me feel vulnerable.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ I feel panicked. I need to calm down. I need to calm down now.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ Whatever is causing this needs to leave. I know I'm all nice to people, and I tend to think the best of people, but whoever, or whatever, is causing this needs to leave now.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ It has to leave, it has to get out, it needs to leave, now...

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ It needs to go, now.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._ _Now, now, NOW!_

"Shigure-san, I'm going to get a snack from the kitchen." I announced as I stood up and headed into the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator, and pretended to act surprised. "Shigure-san, we're out of apples and oranges. I'm going to run out to the store and get some more." "Alright, Tohru-san! See you when you get back!" "Alright." Within the next 5 minutes I had left the house. It felt better to have gotten away from the noises.

Awhile later, I returned with 2 shopping bags. When I entered, the first thing I heard was Kyo and Yuki arguing. I felt better within hearing their voices. "I'm back!" I slipped off my shoes and made my way to the kitchen, which was empty. I guess they're upstairs, or maybe in the backyard. Nobody had answered my 'I'm back' so it's very likely. I restocked the refrigerator with everything inside the shopping bags. Despite their yelling, I could still hear the creaks.

It already was unnerving me greatly.

Emphasis on tried.

In order to try and ignore the creaking, I focused on the sounds of Yuki's and Kyo's voices. But then I heard other voices. Voices I didn't recognize. I looked out the window, and there was a group of 3 chatting with Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure. Kyo and Yuki were arguing with 2 of the men, and Shigure was chatting nervously with the third. They were all armed. I think it would be strange if I stayed in here, despite hearing all these voices, so I slowly opened the back door and stuck my head out slowly.

"Umm... Yuki-san? Kyo-kun? Shigure-san? What's... what's happening...?" I could feel my voice shake, and could hardly hear it. Even though it was quiet, somehow they all heard it and turned their attention to me.

"We're sorry if we disturbed you, Honda-san." Yuki suddenly turned around to face me. "Everything is fine, we were just finishing up out here." He bowed deeply towards me. Kyo looked over his shoulder. "Just... go inside and make dinner, or something..." Although his tone of voice was commanding, I could see worry and uncertainty written all over his face. Shigure looked over his shoulder and nodded towards me, so I nodded and went inside like a good girl and began to make dinner. By the time I finished, it was at least 45 minutes later, so I set the stove to a light simmer so that it didn't go cold, leaned on the counter, and waited.

Half an hour went by. A hour. An hour and a half. Two hours. I was in a daze at this point, and the sudden sizzling brought me crashing back down to earth. I turned towards the pot, and it was heavily steaming, leaking, and it was whistling. I rushed over to it, turned the stove off, and without thinking, grabbed the lid with my bare hand and put it aside. I rubbed my hand quickly as the skin became a bright red. Then, the Sohmas finally came inside.

"Honda-san? Are you okay?" He looked at me with concern. Kyo peered over his shoulder, and Shigure had already gone off somewhere. "I'm fine, Yuki-san. Thank you for your concern, though." I bowed deeply, and looked at the pot. "...Would you like to eat dinner now?"

"I would love to, Honda-san. Thank you." Yuki bowed again and left the kitchen. Kyo walked right up to me and took the hand I burned in his. "...Are you really okay?" He was staring intently at it, as though looking for some type of injury, even the smallest thing. I chuckled a little. "I promise I'm fine, Kyo-kun. Would you mind helping me set the table?" I looked up at him, searching his face, his eyes, for some kind of emotion. "No problem." He let go, put oven-mitts on, and picked up the pot. I actually hadn't expected him to take the pot, and for that I was grateful. It was a heavy pot, after all. About 10 minutes later, we sat around the table and were eating silently.

I felt uneasy again.

I felt unnerved.

 _Creeeeeeaaak._

I hated it.

* * *

 **Probably going to work on this one for awhile. Well... this is like... I'm kind of jumping around on no real schedule. SAT week is going on, piano recital at a nursery home coming up, ice-skating show coming up soon and we haven't tightened the screws on the performance yet... Whoa, I'm stressed. Stressie-stressie-stress. Stressedy Mountain. Welcome to Stress Land! The home of stress! Lol. Enlightenment is fun, though. Don't worry, I won't cease publishing. Perhaps for a little while there will be longer breaks between publish-ments, but I don't intend to stop. See you all next time~**

 **Das vedania~**


	3. Just Fine, Right?

~Tohru's POV~

The creaking had ceased days ago, but I still felt paranoid, and had gotten little sleep in the last 5 or 6 days. Sunlight finally streaked into the room, and I rolled out of bed and onto the floor, feeling exhausted. I would love to sleep in, with it being the weekend and all.. but I need to make breakfast for everyone. After about another 10 minutes, I'd finally forced myself to my feet and spent several more minutes changing. Just a few seconds of standing made me feel tired all over; but eventually I got myself into the kitchen and making pancakes. By the time I finished, I felt like jumping out the window and running as far away from the house as possible; it seemed like everyone was gone. Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki would usually be up by now, but I haven't seen them once since I got downstairs.

Maybe I'll go back to bed? It makes me tired just standing here. Maybe I will..

I set the pancakes aside, went back up the stairs, and collapsed into bed. I didn't remember anything after that, considering I most likely blacked out. However long I was asleep later, I slowly regained consciousness and observed my surroundings, finally realizing where I was.

Oh, right. I fell asleep. What time is it? I rolled over in the bed to look at the clock. It read 10:42. I haven't been asleep for long time. I wonder if anyone else is here now? I climbed out of bed again, still feeling tired but not nearly as tired as I was before. When I checked the kitchen, the pancakes were all gone, so I assumed that they must have came at some point and eaten them. Oh, well. I guess I'll grab something to eat and clean the house. I devoured an orange, not realizing how hungry I was, devoured a second orange, and then put on an apron, got a broom, and started with sweeping the house. After that I picked up items left around the house, washed the floors, cleaned the dishware, washed the windows, fixed the beds, replaced some of the paper doors, sat on the couch for awhile, organized the cupboards, and washed the bathrooms. After that, I collapsed on my bed again, and fell asleep, yet again.

When I woke up again, it was 1:07. I guess I'll just go eat some lunch. I came back downstairs again and had a sandwich. Still no one home. It's unnatural to stay cooped up indoors on a day like this, but I don't think I should leave the house completely unoccupied. I went into the living room and sat for awhile, debating whether or whether I should not leave the house without some else being here to watch it. By the time I decided, it was about 2:00. I'm wasting the whole day. I should just go outside for a little while. Only about an hour. Besides, if I do, maybe I won't get the creepy feeling that I'm being watched anymore.

Well, I was wrong about that. It was about 2:45 now and I was in the middle of town, constantly changing pace and turning around almost every corner I could find, looking over my shoulder every other minute. It felt like something was watching me; no, someBODY is watching me. I'm getting chills down my spine. Maybe if I went inside a store or something, somewhere with security cameras. I know that I would still be watched, but it would still be safer. Technically. I picked up the pace into a sprint and went straight into the 食料品スーパーマーケット (1), where I usually go shopping. I came to a walk as soon as I entered the building and glanced around. There were a-lot-but-not-a-lot of people there, just browsing the aisle. I went down the dairy isle, but still felt like I was being...

Like I was being stalked.

I glanced over my shoulder every few second, which was now really starting to cause my neck to hurt, but I was paranoid that if I wasn't watching for long enough, that someone would do something to me. If only Kyo or Yuki, or Arisa or Saki were here, maybe then I would feel better; but, as previously stated, I was being paranoid. After several minutes of circling around the store, I left and continued walking around for several minutes. Eventually, I turned all the way around, and just caught sight of one of the armed men from Monday...

And Yuki's head. Just as they hid behind a building.

I was feeling mixed emotions. I didn't know whether to feel mad, annoyed, exposed, violated, or relieved; but I physically sighed and kept walking, now feeling mostly relieved. If Yuki was with them, they wouldn't hurt me, right? Then, I ultimately have nothing to worry about. At the moment, at least. But it's not like anything bad has been going on, right? Maybe they'll stick around for a few more days, but then everything will be fine, right? But I still feel violated for being stalked all day like this.

Just fine, right?

I turned a corner and didn't even bother to turn around again as I made my way back to the house, went straight up to bed, and clocked out for the final time of the day.

* * *

 **(1) Grocery Superstore**

* * *

 **Hello people!  
My legs hurt and my ankles burn from skating today. I LUV IT**

 **Now that SAT's are over, I'm happy ^_^ But I still have the skating, the piano, and the lego robotics competition coming up... I haven't quite left Stress Land yet .**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I wonder what you think about it. It sounds like something else than what I wanted, but that'll make for a good plot twist later. So I'm kinda hoping you're thinking what I'm thinking when I look at this. But don't worry about it!**

 **Das vedania!**


	4. Edobashi IMPORTANT NOTICE INSIDE

**Sorry this is so late in coming! Hopefully this installment of Shadows will at least be acceptable enough for my super long absence.**

 **Also, as to why I called the people who read my Blue Exorcist fanfictions and Rise of the Guardian fanfiction, and etc., is because two classmates, both fellow writers, and I have decided to make kind of a group project type thing. It's going to be called AFKMSS Productions, and basically, it's an account where anything that either two or three of us write together and decide to put there will be posted there.**

 **Since me and the the other two, SkylarKiwi and Fluffmaiden (SkylarKiwi is actually xXFoxyPirateXx, but I'm not sure if she changed the name or not, and I don't think the account Fluffmaiden has actually been made yet - but it'll be made soon - ... I'm actually the only one of us who posts fanfiction, and usually it's mostly stuff that I write on my own, save for a few one-shots) are already extremely familiar with this, seeing as we spent the entire 7th grade year writing retarded misc. anime comics, strange creepypasta comics, a really weird FairyTail comic, etc., etc., we basically have gotten over this stage and decided, as a group, to really start putting effort into it, almost like a writing assignment. Of course, this doesn't mean that we feel that it's just a rigid piece of work to be typed up and handed off - where would the fluffiness of the story be if that was so? - , since we're going to still have fun with it, we're just going to really put some more time and thought into the words so that it doesn't come out retarded and completely illogical (we broke the laws of psychics n' shit like that).**

 **Anywho, here's the next installment. Enjoy! Hopefully!**

* * *

~Tohru's POV~

Sunday was rather boring, but also rather awkward. I didn't talk much to the Sohma's, and I'm not sure if they just sensed that I wanted to be alone for a bit or if they were just avoiding me as well, but I was rather grateful for it. It was suffocating to be in the same room as them, and pure heart-wrenching the few times that they spoke to me. Perhaps I expected them to say that they were following me. Perhaps I expected them to ask me what was wrong. Perhaps I was expecting something else altogether. Regardless of all of that, though, I couldn't help but feel betrayed. This is not the first time I've been betrayed, and certainly will not be the last time I am betrayed, but perhaps I just feel down about it because... well, they're the Sohma's. They took me in and allowed me to live in their house, and even trusted me enough to not let Hatori-san erase my memory. I guess it just hurts more, since they trusted me with so much and I really felt like we were pretty tightly knit. Maybe I set the bar too high - I mean, everyone has something that they have the right too keep to themselves, right? I can't expect them to tell me everything. I'm probably in the wrong here, and it'll probably blow over soon.

Monday was rather uneventful as well, but the tension between us remained, unmoved and rigid. It was like that until Thursday, when Momiji paid a visit. However, he immediately sensed the tension. When he asked me what was wrong, Shigure-san had ushered him back to the Sohma estate, saying that he had received a call from Hatori-san, saying that he needed him back at the house. As soon as Momiji had gone out the front door, he had retreated to his study, and I could hear him talking on the phone, telling the person on the other end of the receiver to send Momiji on an errand once he got back to the estate, so it was probably Hatori-san.

* * *

When that happened, it became obviousness of the situation being more dire than it had seemed escalated rapidly, though staying here wouldn't help. If anything, the tension had gotten worse and was getting worse still - so I left the house for awhile, mumbling to Shigure-san that I was going to meet up with my friends. I had quickly left that room, before he could respond, and hurried out of the house, thankfully not seeing either Yuki-san or Kyo-kun on my way out. Within the next 20 minutes, I was heading off on a train to Edobashi(1). This was probably an exaggerated action to take, but I needed to absolutely make sure that I could be alone with my thoughts for a little while.

It didn't take long to get there, and thinking about it, I probably could've even walked there, but it was too late to be thinking about that. Once I got there, I headed straight for Kairakuen(2). For awhile, I found myself wandering aimlessly about the grounds, across the bridge and back, and, thinking about it, I probably had covered the entire grounds, although I wasn't consciously aware of where I was in the park at all times. I had come here to clear my head and think straight, but now that I'm here, my mind's gone blank, and even if I try to, it won't stay on task. I guess there was really no point in coming here.

I left the park at that point, and made my way back to the Edobashi station, and began waiting for the next train back to Tokyo. About 15 minutes passed, and at that point in time, I was starting to feel paranoid again. When it started off, I figured that I was just being watched by those men and the Sohmas again. Feelings of hurt overcame me again, but I brushed them aside for the time being and decided that they must have their own reasons. Another 15 minutes had passed, and the back of my neck had gone stiff and the paranoia had only grown. I silently prayed to whatever higher power was listening that my mind was just toying with me and making it seem a lot worse than it actually was, or maybe even that it was just a dream.

Eventually, the train came, and my walk onto the train was hurried. A few minutes later, a few more people had entered the train. Among these people was one of the people who had come to our house not too long ago. He was wearing a trench-coat and a fedora - a pretty cliche disguise, if you ask me - but the logo of the company that had sent him was stitched into the trench-coat, just a few inches under his armpit. He sat down on the opposite side of the car, and once he did, he leaned forward a little, leaving the stitching visible. It read CCG.

 _Ah, so he's an Investigator. The other two probably are, as well._

To be honest, CCG was a rather well-known company, although that was perhaps in order to help fund the company. Funds for soldiers and research and just about everything else in the buildings, including the buildings, did not fall from the sky like rain in a storm. I'm rather sure that they might even have a few charities set up, though I've never seen one, only heard of them. Thinking about it, though, as a rather straightforward ad, is pretty odd, though.

 _Please fund the CCG Charity, killing your local ghouls! Have a ghoul infestation? Just call CCG! Remember - we can't do it without your funding!_

I was never fond of the CCG. As a child, I didn't understand what a ghoul was, so when they would announce on the news about how they killed another ghoul or something like that, or even issued an evacuation, I couldn't help but think of them as murderers. Even now, when I'm 17, they still appear to be just murderers to me.

* * *

For the entirety of the train ride, the man in the CCG coat was glancing up at me out of the corner of his eye every few seconds. However, the train ride being short, this did not last for very long and I began my walk back to the house, in the rural part of Tokyo. My neck had loosened up a little, and I had gotten the feeling that the man was leaving me alone for the time being, so I took my time, not really wanting to return to the house quickly. Now that I'm walking back, I wish I was back at Kairakuen, but wishing will do no good. Rather, I simply took multiple detours and walked slowly, lengthening my trip back to the house by at least 45 minutes.

However, I eventually did get back to the house (you can't really made detours on a dirt path that only goes one way or the other) and found myself standing on the porch and staring at the door for awhile. At some point, though, the door was thrown open, and I was immediately met with the sight of the face of a worried-looking Yuki-san.

"Miss Honda! Thank goodness you're safe - I was so worried!" He sighed in relief. Was a really gone for a long time? And he appears to not know that I had been at the Edobashi station. Maybe I didn't see Yuki-san's hair on that day. Maybe it was a trick of the lighting on an Investigator's hair.

"Gomennasai(3), Yuki-san." I bowed deeply. "Sorry for worrying you. I just needed to clear my thoughts for a bit, and I guess I lost track of the time." A relieved expression formed on Yuki-san's face.

"It's great to hear that you were safe, Miss Honda. Why don't we eat dinner?" The realization struck me.

"Oh no! I forgot to make dinner! Gomennasai!" I bowed again and rushed to the kitchen, with Yuki-san calling after me that it was alright. I bypassed Shigure-san on a telephone and Kyo-kun in the living room, though Yuki-san told Shigure-san what had happened, and ignored all of Kyo-kun's question. A few minutes later, there were crashes, and I could only assume the two were fighting again. I knew it for a fact when Shigure-san began crying about a broken door.

I, on the other hand, while quickly getting started on dinner in the kitchen, gave all of the information I now had a brief once-over, and ultimately decided that whatever was going on has peaked and was now beginning to fade away, which is something that made me very glad. To keep this peace of mind, I am willing to discard other pieces of information, such as their avoiding me.

So long as we can still be friends.

* * *

 **That's also for now, then.**

 **Oh, and today was my first day of school. *Forced* Yay.**

 **Not that it's really that bad. The teachers in my school do want us to succeed, and do give us several extra opportunities to bring up our grades quite a bit. Although, that is not to say that they spoon-feed us. We still have to work and all.**

 **(1) A city that is extremely close to Tokyo.**

 **(2) A park near the Edobashi station.**

 **(3) A common way to apologize.**

 **According to forums and stuff, the anime most likely takes place in rural Tokyo Japan.**

 **Anyway,**

 **До свидания!**

 **(Pronounced 'Do svidaniya!').**


	5. not a chapter

**I know this isn't an actual story update, but hear me out. I'm typing this on my phone so it's going to be short. I've decided to expand to other sites, and will be moving all my anime fanfictions to a site called** **over this coming weekend. Also, do not expect many updates in the near future, as my attention is currently on my ROTG story, the Undertale story, and the recent Wolf Among Us story. Please understand. If you would like to adopt a story, PM me as soon as possible. However once you do, I will be permanently taking it off my account, regardless of whether you decide you don't want to continue it.**

 **Please understand. Sincerely, ScarletAlexia**


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